The Game Industry in General
Some Trends in the Game Industry * These are my observations & opinions. * You are welcome to share your POVs Money talks the rest takes a walk * The Game Industry Model is undergoing transformation from several, inter-locking, vantages. * One vantage is the Hollywood Moviemaking Model (begun some decades back) of "Out-sourcing" for talent / skills rather than having it all "In-house". * A second is the Rise of "Middleware SDKs": for "Pathing", "Advanced A.I.", & "Networking & Security" for Web MP. * Thirdly, on the MP front, there is a concerted push to Model comp-vid gaming into a Competitive Structure like Pro Sports. Tourneys for substantial dough, etc. * This last is to tap into the Multi-Billion dollar spectating & gambling market - very much a part of the gameing impulse like Casino Games & the ponies.... Even OTB on Pro & College Sports. * Successfull Web MP also adds to a titles longevity & thus the bottomline.... Plus mana from merchandising revene streams: collectibles, movie / book / comics tie-ins. Thus also contributing to a known brand that offers a built-in audience for future titles. * Not every vid-comp game can benefit from a blockbuster movie marketing tie-in. * But most blockbuster games can gain additional economic mana from a Pro-competitive tie-in with $ stakes and the gambling associated with it - with or without a Movie or collateral merchandising in the mix. * This translates to an even greater need for network secure gaming. * Revenue-wise, vid-comp gameing has accended to the pinnacle of the entertainment industry heap - the Multi-Billion Dollar Club. * Lots of money is at stake on the dev & distribution side. * For every one mega-success there are countless failures in the marketplace. * That's a lot of risk & losses to absorb. * Anything that can effectively cut costs & augment various revenue streams is being actively pursued. * On the issue of secure net vid-comp gameing the work of [http://www.secureplay.com/technology/technology.htm SecurePlay Net MP Technology] is worth examining for a whole host reasons. * Fourth: the Modularization of Design Architecture to faciltate scalability, re-usability of software assets in sequels, reduce dev cycle time and promote fan-base modders to create. For successful Mods have proven to add to the sales / longevity of a title by enlisting the talents & skills of an unpaid labor pool. Eventually that pool may become sothing akin to the Minor Leagues in sports.... Like Triple AAA ball to MLB. * Inexpensive, genre specific, integrated game development suites (inc. state of the art game engines) with SDKs & upgrade paths. Freeing up indie game development from the prohibitive costs of setting-up a brick & mortar Game Studio / Team. The Net providing a low-cost remote collaboration medium and, later, distribution channel. * All the above are joined at the hip or on the way to convergence. A critical-mass, or tipping-point, to reduce costs, maximize the diversity of revenue streams, & reinvigorate innovation in the design paradigms by minimizing finacial risks. * Money talks, the rest takes a walk. * A follow-up question of some interest would be: * HOW does Open-source games fit into this dynamic system ? * Rman Comments on this Editorial=